A Cry in the Dark
A Cry in the Dark, formally known as The Psion's Night Prologue: A Cry in the Dark, is the second Dungeons and Dragons campaign in Le Buddies Play D&D. The story chronicles the quest of Oesis Diety, Vivian Estrella, Farmer Gurk, Machi, Mizuki, Starbie, Celeste Alinet and Ser Jorgen Von Rhelk as they hunt down the Illithid Elder Brain. The group is led by the Alhoon known as Him (or The Figure), who holds a personal vendetta against the Illithid Hive Mind and seeks to destroy them. The setting of A Cry in the Dark is primarily within the Underdark as The Underparty is trapped there by Him and forced to aid his quest. It takes place approximately 15 years after the events of A Heart of Sorrowful Power and 15 years before the start of The Psion's Night. =Campaign= Rumbles in the Deep Five Letters In the year 1447 of the Age of Nerath, letters are sent to five individuals: tiefling investigator Oesis Diety, bard and former slave Vivian Estrella, goliath farmer Gurk, githzurai renegade Starbie, and centaur knight Jorgen Von Rhelk. Detailed within are promises of personal glory and wealth should they aid in an expedition gathering at the Frostmaiden Inn. Gurk takes along his adoptive wilden son Machi, who brings his spirit companion Mizuki. The unlikely grouping meets up at the mentioned inn, getting to know each other. They are then approached by an individual known only as The Figure, who claims his identity is hidden for the sake confidentiality. The Figure reveals that an opening into the Underdark has formed in The Terrah Pit, the result of actions by a group of adventurers during the Bloodreaver War (likely Blarg Deaff's prayer to Torog). From this opening, Demons have been pouring into the surface. The group has been tasked is discretely close off the opening and are slated to depart the following morning, the reasoning for their recuitment being that they would not cause much suspicion. As the party eats, it is eventually decided to send off Jorgen's squire Timmy due to the danger of the mission. The Terrah Pit, Opened In the morning the group loads into a carriage, which is pulled by Jorgen, and arrive at The Terrah Pit by midday. Entering through a hole in the crumbling earth, they encounter a group of Flaming Skeletons and Dreches. Fighting past these they come to a forked path. One side leads to the opening while to other leads to the failed defense system of the Pit, a group of golems. Starbie and Oesis decide to try and awaken the golems while the remainder of the group attacks the demons. Those to fight past some more flaming skeletons and reach a plaque which activates the golems. The rest of the group battles more dretches and a Bloodseep Demon in the main chamber before the Iron Golem busts through and kills it. With the demons removed, The Figure prepares to seal off the pit. However, at this moment a swarm of magical hands are summoned which pull the unprepared Party down through the opening. Upon awakening they find themselves in the Underdark with The Figure. The Figure reveals himself to actually be a Mind Flayer Alhoon whose real goal is to kill the Elder Brain which once dominated him. Starbie and Jorgen attempt to attack the alhoon upon his reveal, but are fruitless. He then explains the real reason they were gathered was to aid him in slaying the Elder Brain, and in minor display of trust reveals his True Name to them. Being that the psychic implications of this true name are impossible to describe, the alhoon becomes known simply as Him. The Spore Plague Him proceeded to provide the new Underparty with an enchanted map which displayed their location. As a gauge of their abilities and to save time to take care of his own errands, Him then left the Underparty to their own devices. This instructions were for them to travel to the city of Maelbrathyr, located in the Middledark. There were two routes to Maelbrathyr, the first going through the Drow city of Menzoberranzan and the other being a longer route through Duergar territory. Considering the drow more dangerous, The Underparty opted for the second route. The Underparty, with little options being lost in this alien landscape, began to follow the map south. They soon came to a large cavern but found their path blocked by Myconids. Though typical non-hostile, these myconids were infected by some disease which greyed their skin and caused them to attack other life forms. After defeating these they came across another group of myconids. This time, however, it appeared that the healthy myconids were fighting with the infected ones. Seeing this The Underparty helped slay the infected myconids and the healthy ones led them to their village: The Glowing Grove. The sovereign of this myconid colony went by the name of Meln Darkmoss and welcomed the travelers in. He offered safe lodging and passage, but requested that they aid in removing the plague that infected their kind. The disease seemed to spread from spores of infected myconids, thus infecting others around them. They had located the source of the infection, a smaller myconid circle which had been consumed by it. However, they could not eradicate the infected colony without inadvertently infecting their own. Thus The Underparty, unaffected by the myconids' infected spores, were sent to clear it out. That night as the Underparty slept in The Glowing Grove, their minds wandered into The Dream, much to Machi's elation. The next day they set out. After discovering the cave where the colony was houses they entered and fought their way through. They eventually came to the Infected Sovereign of the colony, which was also slain. The bodies of the infected were burned by Vivian as per Meln Darkmoss' instruction and they returned to the Grove. Meln was honored by their actions and in return permitted them to take whatever they needed from the few shops within the village. He also bid them to commune with Araumycos, the great ancient sentient mushroom which the village was built around. Upon communing with Araumycos, The Underparty saw visions of the future and an unsettling feeling of dark things fated to come. Meln then told them that myconid scouts had determined a significant threat on The Underparty's projected path and relayed that they should take a more southerly path through Kuo-Toa territory. A Maddening Detour Following the Myconids' suggestion, The Underparty departed through the thick mushroom-filled tunnels and emerged in Cavern Cypro, just north of Daruhm Fort. The local duergar captain barred them from entrance to the fort but permitted the party to pass by, directing them to the Quaggoth camp southward. While heading through the adjacent trading post they are then approached by the dwarf Emmir, head of a small trade caravan heading along the same road as the party. Emmir wished to hire The Underarty as guards, offering them pay and to hasten their travel. While skeptical, the party initially accepted. However, when it was revealed that Emmir owned an orc slave named Nug, many party members (particularly Vivian) became uncomfortable and broke off the arrangement. This greatly angered Emmir, but he was powerless to oppose them. The Underparty refilled their water stores at the local reservoir and headed for the Quaggoth camp. When they arrived, they were opposed by the Quaggoth Alpha, Boast. Managing to communicate through Boast's broken elvish, the party determined that Quaggoth was challenging the Underparty's strongest warrior to an unarmed bout. Should the warrior prove themselves, they would be allowed to dine and rest in the camp. Farmer Gurk was quickly chosen as the party's champion and after a hard fought battle Boast relented and allowed them in. Once dining with the Quoggoths was concluded, travel continued south. Mizuki also had to depart from Machi temporarily, leaving the wolf spirit Lillie to watch over Machi in the interim. Making their way through the tunnels, The Underparty soon found itself beset by Kuo-Toa. After enduring a tirade of javelins, Gurk, Starbie, and Oesis moved up to fight off the fish people. Unfortunately, this combat only attracted more Kuo-Toa, the entire cavern filling with their chattered screeches. Machi and Vivian managed to hold the flank, but it soon became apparent they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Jorgen took Machi on his back and began to push through the Kuo-Toa ranks with Vivian to try an escape and meet up with the others, who had been separated. Similarly, Gurk reached Oesis and picked him up before rushing towards the exit. Lillie pulled up the back, holding off and distracting the monsters as long as possible. Eventually, after much hard fighting, the Underparty managed to reconvene at the end of the caverns and slay the Kuo-Toa Priest there. They then collapsed a boulder over the entrance, blocking off the perusing Kuo-Toa and gaining some respite. After resting they set out again, climbing through a partially collapsed cave and into an abandoned mine. Here a sole Kuo-Toa scout spotted them, but it was quickly dispatched by Jorgen. Regardless, it was apparent that more Kuo-Toa were on the way. Taking a route through a southerly tunnel, now being perused, they came across a split path. Starbie quickly darted along one, only to find a dead end filled with corpses. After looting what he could from them, including a brooch of House Dungrim, he rushed back and ushered the others along another route. Starbie and Oesis pushed ahead, joined by Vivian after she used mage-light to distract the light-sensitive Kuo-Toa. Concurrently Gurk and Jorgen fought a mutated Kou-Toa with a lobster claw arm. Soon they arrived in a large open cavern, revealed to be the Pool of the Sea Mother. With no other recourse, The Underparty set out to cross the lake using the patchwork of docks. Lillie stayed back again to hold the enemy off and the others fought to keep ever increasing numbers of Kuo-Toa from climbing up the docks. Meanwhile, on the cusp of the village on the lake, a Kuo-Toa Priest began a ritual by sacrificing groups of its kin into the water, causing it to turn crimson with blood and begin to bubble. As the combat on the docks continued, the slain Kuo-Toa also were sucked under water into the foul rite. Starbie managed to reach the end of the dock, where a small boat attached to a pulley system was the only way to the other bank, and the exit. As the first group ferried across, the Kou-Toa's ritual reached completion, summoning an Aspect of Blibdoolpoolp from the depths. As a heavy fog beset the lake the second group managed to avoid the Aspect and ferry across. However, on the other side Jorgen was knocked out trying to hold off the godly being. Gurk rushed back across with a health potion and managed to retrieve Jorgen, while Lillie successfully distracted the Aspect. With everyone across, The Underparty managed to escape down the tunnels and away from the Kuo-Toa camps. Down We Go Having escaped Kuo-Toa territory the Underparty was now located at The Crossroads. After consulting their map and a multilingual stone directory in the center of The Crossroads, they determined that the path forward would be along the Bronze Road to the duergar city of Dunel-Derith. Following a few armed trade caravans down the road for safety they came to the guardhouse for entry into Dunel-Derith. Once they had passed an inspection by the guards, they gained access and restocked in the city. Due to the presence of a sizable slave market and other unsavory facets, the party quickly resolved to continue as fast as possible. Starbie and Oesis were able to negotiate passage down the civilian elevator to reach the Middledark. After paying a fee the party boarded the elevator and descended down the pit, emerging above the lower section of Dunel-Derith with a grandiose view of the great Darklake. Once the elevator had landed they quickly departed from Dunel-Derith down the Low Road towards Maelbrathyr. The Pride of Maelbrathyr Road to Maelbrathyr As The Underparty traveled along the Low Road, they came across a Carrion Crawler-riding human named Esher Spilios and his group of Chitine slaves. Esher was a passing slave driver, but had halted on the road because he swore he had seen a Pixie pass by. Motivated by the massive potential profits he could reap should it be captured, Esher had tracked the pixie to a nearby cave. The Underparty, wanting to save the pixie from this horrible fate, agreed to "help" Esher capture it. In reality, their goal was to help the pixie escape. The pixie in question was Celeste Alinet, who had gotten lost in the Underdark after traveling through the Feydark. Just as Esher and the Underparty closed in on her, a hungry Hook Horror attacked Celeste in search of an easy snack. The Hook Horror and Esher's group proceeded to run straight into each other, with Celeste stuck in the middle. Luckily, each side perceived the other as the bigger threat (rightfully so) and attacked one another. The Party aided Esher, but only to the minimum, allowing him to take significant damage from the Hook Horror. In the chaos, Mizuki (who had recently returned to Machi's side) ushered the pixie over to Machi, who hid her under his hat. After the Hook Horror was slain, taking one of Esher's Chitines with it, the slaver continued on his way, begrudging that the pixie had been lost in the scuffle. Once Esher was out of the way, Machi unveiled the unharmed Celeste. Grateful to her saviors, and with no other way to escape the Underdark, Celeste insisted she join the Underparty on their mission. After a bit of deliberation this was accepted by the party and Celeste officially joined them. From there the Underparty with their new member continued along the road until they reached the King's Highway. A massive tunnel dug by Torog during his early days of imprisonment, the highway still contained the congealed streaks of the torture god's blood. Not far off, positioned on the precipice of a cliff hanging over the highway, was their destination: Maelbrathyr. The Taken Place Located on the edge of four descending cliffs, the fallen city of Maelbrathyr looked out over the King's Highway. The Party soon made their way up a series of side tunnels to arrive at the city gates, carefully avoiding the streams of Torog's blood along the way. Much to their surprise they found Tiefling Guards overseeing the entrance, garbed in what Vivian recognized as ancient Bael Turathian armor. Unlike Dunel-Derith, there was no checkpoint here and various individuals of many a race flowed in and out of the gates. It was soon revealed that the city was in the midst of the Bleak Carnival, in which traders from far and wide arrived to exchange goods in the open city. Oesis remembered hearing about the carnival, as even the rare and entrepreneurial trader on the surface would brave the depths of the Underdark to partake in it. This confirmed that the city was truly The Taken Place, an ancient Bael Turathian city which was pulled into the Underdark towards the end of the Turath-Arkhosian Wars. The group decided to split up and explore the city, while searching for Him in the meantime. Oesis and Jorgen went to the carnival grounds, where Jorgen lost most of his gold betting on Madame Hazress’ Psychic Showdown. The duel was between psychic projections of Drizzt Do’Urden and Farideh. While Jorgen bet on Drizzt, he was defeated. Starbie investigated House Dungrim, recognizing the name from the brooch he had found earlier. However, the mansion appeared to be completely abandoned and in a state of disarray. The rest of the party traveled to House Ravenhook, where a lush a beautiful garden attracted Machi's eye. After displaying his plant magic, the Tiefling Guards present brought Machi and the others to Aleeria Shaltzar. Shaltzar was quite the sight to behold, her upper body engulfed in flames and her lower body frozen in ice. She indicated that she required Machi's services indefinitely to tend to her garden. With Machi afraid and Gurk gearing to fight their way out, Celeste managed to convince Aleeria that Machi did not have the abilities she had believed. Infuriated at her guards for bringing a "failure", Aleeria flew into a rage and the party members were able to escape. Elsewhere, Oesis briefly spotted the linen-garbed visage of The Figure amongst the throng of the crowds. Him then spoke into Oesis' mind, instructing the Underparty to gather at the Severed Horn Lodge and speak the password "The Eyes Are Blind". The Eyes Are Blind Once The Underparty had been reconvened at the Severed Horn Lodge, Oesis spoke the password to the Tiefling bartender. Suddenly transfixed in a trance, she led them upstairs and opened a secret door in the wall to a room where Him was seated. He welcomed the Underparty in, slightly annoyed at their acquisition of another member without his consent. However, after psychically probing Celeste, he allowed her to stay. Though he also warned any other stragglers would be killed past this stage of the plan. Him was pleased with The Underparty's performance reaching Maelbrathyr, and indicated it was time to fill them in on the rest of the plan. The Mind Flayer spies were hitherto blind to their intentions, but it would be pertinent to keep it that way if the Underparty was to infiltrate the Mind Flayer capital of Oryndoll and slay the Elder Brain. To avoid detection and pass through the powerful Psychic Bulwark that protects the city, they would require a powerful artifact: the Rod of Amoth. Luckily, the long lost rod had recently been discovered and was now being housed in Maelbrathyr somewhere. Unfortunately, the individual who had acquired the rod was Vance Dungrim, a member of the Pride of Maelbrathyr. The Pride were once adventurers from the high houses of Maelbrathyr when it was on the surface, and were sent into the Underdark to free the famous Bael Turathian commander known as The Ruby Wizard. The Wizard was being held in one of Torog's torture pits, and the hope was that his return could help turn the tide in the war with Arkhosia. The members of the Pride were Hannault Thrayban, Marta Ravenhook, Aleeria Shaltzar, Ordu Dekaan, and Vance Dungrim. Marta and Vance were killed in the midst of the quest, but the others returned home with The Ruby Wizard. Although immediate festivities for their success began, the folly of the Pride was soon revealed. Torog, angered that one had been freed from his pits of eternal torture, he extracted revenge upon the whole city which had slighted him. Torog pulled Maelbrathyr into the Underdark, where it has remained to this day. This was pertinent, however, because Torog had a different fate in mind for the Pride. Each surviving member was made immortal, but trapped within their own personal hell. Hannault, the party's leader, had the souls of the two lost companions bound inside of him. Now, when the conditions are met, he would transform entirely into Marta Ravenhook or Vance Dungrim, which would control his body for that time. And so it was Hannault, in the form of Vance, who had acquired the rod. But Vance had since returned to being Hannault, who had no memory of what his other form had done. So the only way to discover where Vance had hidden the rod would be to transform Hannault back into him. This would be the Underparty's new task, as Him could not complete it without revealing himself to the Mind Flayer spies. Finding The Other Face A Needle in a Haystack The Aberration Assault Reaching the Cenotaph The Elder Concord The Awakening